ABC/CHRIS HELCERMANAS-BENGEConfession: We here at Team WWK love ABC's Once Upon a Time. This is a full-blown, change-our-relationship-status-on-Facebook kind of love affair.
One of our favorite parts of the fantastical drama? Why, the well-vested and ruggedly handsome Sheriff Graham, played by Jamie Dornan, of course! Luckily for you (and us), we chatted with the very charming actor, who spilled on Sunday's Sheriff-centric episode and the reveal of his much-debated fairy-tale counterpart. Plus, Emma or Regina?
Signing on to the show was pretty much a no-brainer for Dornan. Hello, have you seen his character's endless collection of vests? "I mean, that's why actors pick their roles, obviously, just because of the costume," he jokes.
Awesome vest jokes aside, Dornan says he immediately knew he wanted to be a part of OUAT. "Look, I was just going through pilot season, and you know, you read so much sh-t," he bluntly tells us. "So much of it is repetitive and you've seen that show a thousand times. You get sort of tired of hearing about it. Once Upon a Time really stood out. It was the show that everyone was talking about, that all my agents were going mad over and that seemed like a definite go."
Added bonus? Dornan is a huge Lost fan (swoon!), whose EPs Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis created OUAT.
"The chances are that if they're involved in something, it's going to be something that you're going to want to be involved in," he explains. "I was just such a fan of Lost, so they didn't have to explain who they were. You just get involved like any other TV show and just hope. But it was the one that I thought, 'This is different and this will grab people,' because there's no one in the world that doesn't like fairy tales."
The Big Bad Wolf, the Huntsman, Robin Hood...chances are you've thought Graham's identity in the fairy-tale world was at least one of these characters, if not many others. Dornan says it "is kind of fun" knowing that the show's fan base has spent the last two months speculating who his fairy-tale counterpart is. "It's a cool way to keep the audience guessing and to be the source of that sort of wonder is quite cool."
Obviously, fans are getting the answer in Sunday's episode, where Dornan finally takes center stage. Though he's "worried that the title of episode seven ['The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'] has sort of released it in a way," Dornan says, "I think fans will be a bit pleased that he is something a little bit different and controversial."
Aside from seeing Dornan get his fairy tale on, many fans have been patiently waiting for Graham and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) to get together, and they'll finally get to see their first kiss this week. But are the Sheriff's feelings for his new deputy real or all part of Regina's (Lana Parrilla) master plan? "I think they're real," Dornan simply says. "I think he relates to her on a different level than he has related to anyone else. Everyone else is kind of stuck in that time, and every time he talks to her [he wants to] know more. He's genuinely attracted to her."
He adds: "Emma is the first person to come along that has made him start to question his relationship with Regina, and he's actually starting to [ask himself] what drives him to it and that he just does it," Dornan teases. "He just wants to feel something, and Emma is his opportunity to feel that."
Speaking of Graham's relationship with Regina, we couldn't help but ask—on behalf of the fans, of course—why the hell he's hooking up with her. "I think in Storybrooke you're not really spoilt for choice when it comes to relationships," he says. "You sort of take what you can get. You know, the mayor is single, she's attractive and she's powerful." Translation: Stop trying to salt his game, people!
And before you yell at us in the comments, yes, we did inform Dornan of the nickname some fans have given Graham. Modest as ever (seriously, the dude does not give himself enough credit), Dornan guessed it was "a--hole," before we gave in and told him he's known as hot hipster Sheriff. After a long laugh, he says, "That's good!" Yes, we're pretty sure it beats a--hole, too.
Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Who do you think Graham is in the fairy-tale world? Are you excited to see some development in Graham and Emma's relationship? And finally, do you love Graham's obsession with vests as much as we do? Sound off in the comments, Oncers!